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www.securitysystemsnews.com June 2018 S e C u RITY SYST e MS ne WS
Security Stat S 2
By Spencer Ives
CLEVELAND, Ohio—The market
for drones in safety and security
applications in the U.S. has a bright
future, according to a report from
The Freedonia Group, a research
firm based here. The company pre-
dicts the market to reach a value of
about $1 billion by 2022.
Freedonia valued the safety and
security drone market at $145 mil-
lion in 2016 and the firm expects it
to grow to $250 million, "then we're
going to have it more than quadru-
pling from that point into 2022,"
Jennifer Christ, manager, consumer
and commercial products group at
Freedonia Group, told Security Sys-
tems News. Between 2016 and 2019
Freedonia predicts a CAGR of 19.9
percent in this market, Christ said.
Part of the growth anticipation
stems from expected regulations
changes around drones, as well as
innovations that improve drone
technology. "As the industry starts
to grow, there's going to be more
lobbying and more requests to
have a more consistent regulatory
framework across the country so
that people know what to expect
and they know what they can work
with," Christ said.
The report was titled "Safety
& Security Drones in the US by
Equipment, Software and Servic-
es."
"We started out by trying to fig-
ure out: Where are [drones] being
used? Where might they be used?
What are the opportunities? How
many different ways can we think
of that people are either using now
or could be using it, based on the
capabilities of these pieces of equip-
ment?" Christ said.
Christ added that Freedonia
also examined: "How can a secu-
rity company or safety application
maximize their workers' capabili-
ties? How can they make workers
safer and more efficient? How can
they get more out of less?"
Seeking to get more out of less
"has been the dynamic overall
between security services and
security electronics anyway—this
is just the extension of that idea,"
Christ said.
Freedonia looked at a broad
view of current drone applica-
tions, according to Christ, includ-
ing firefighting, safety inspections,
3-D modeling, border patrol and
weather and climate analysis.
Emerging applications for
drones include perimeter moni-
toring, search and rescue, watch-
ing livestock, and general security
surveillance, she added. "Some are
starting to use [drones for perim-
eter monitoring] but it's still very
much an emerging area," Christ
said. "We're getting to some of the
more conventional security appli-
cations where you think of it as like
a mobile camera."
The report looked at three dif-
ferent areas of the market: equip-
ment—the drone itself, separately
sold software, and services—
including drone operators, training
and consulting.
High cost was identified as a
potential inhibitor to the market.
Though, cost for drones will come
down, as companies begin produc-
ing more drones and different com-
panies in the space start to compete
on price, Christ said.
For other growth factors, Christ
pointed to the development of
drones that are easier to operate,
with longer ranges and flight times
and increased capabilities, as well
as an "ongoing desire to reduce
safety and security labor costs,
improve worker safety."
Christ expects drone software to
be continuously evolving. "Users
aren't going to want to go out and
buy a whole new drone for every
new generation of capabilities.
In a lot of ways, manufacturers
are expected to be able to offer
upgrades to equipment largely
through software upgrades."
Among services, Freedonia sees
consultants as important in the
early steps of raising awareness and
seeing where drones might fit into
an application. The firm also recog-
nizes the need for training services
as demand for drone operators
rises. Christ sees "drone leasing
and temporary contracting with
a licensed operator" to be another
option for potential users.
SSN
Freedonia sees positive future for US safety and security drones